Game-board



Patented Nov. 22, I898.

No. s|4,543.

E. GERRY.

GAME BOARD.

(Application filed Apr. 30, 1898.)

(no Model.)

INVENTOR WITNESSES 111s cams PLTERs co. PNOTCLUTHOJ, WASNINGTON, ofc.

NITED STATES PATENT Fries.

GAM E-BOARD.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 614,543, dated November 22, 1898. Application filed April 30, 1898. erial No. 679,302. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ELBRIDGE GERRY, a citizen of the'United States, residing at Danbury, county of Fairfi'eld, State of Connecticut, have invented a new and useful Game-Board, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to the class of games which are partly chance-controlled, but into which the element of skill enters to an important extent, and has for its object to pro duce a game-board adapted to be used in connection with two, three, or four sets of differently-colored men and an equal number of dice-boxes and pairs of dice (orother means of determining moves) in playing an entirely novel game, to which the name of Ben Trovata is given. 7

In the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, Figure 1 is a plan view of my novel game-board, and Fig. 2 is a View representing one man from each of the four sets.

The board is arranged for four players,who may play as partners or independently, or three or two players may play, if preferred. Each player has seven men, and the object of the game is to get the men from their several starting-places home as quickly as possible.

The player who gets his men home first wins. The men belonging to each player are of course all of the same color, each player having a diife'rent color. The spots upon the board correspond in color to the colors of the men, in addition to which the group of spots which I have designated the common are of a fifth color, with the exception of four spots upon the common, which are designated bases and which may be of a sixth color.

a, b, c, and cl designate spots whose colors correspond to the colors of the four sets of men. These I term the players colors.

6 represents spots of a different color, the group of spots of this color comprising the common, and f represents four spots upon the common, which may be of still another color, and are termed the bases.

The starting-places, which are at the corners of the board, are indicated by A. Each starting-place comprises seven spots, four of spots, termed a run, corresponding in color,

with the four spots in the starting-place from which it leads. These runs, which are desig nated by B, terminate at the common, which is designated by C. Four of the spots upon the common are designated as the bases.

The common spots and the bases may be of different colors from the runs, as already stated. 7 For convenience I have designated the spots of the common by e and the bases by f. Each 'run between its starting-place and the common is provided with a guard-house, the several guard-houses being indicated by D. Each guard-house consists of a spot in the run and a spot of the same color on each flank.

The central spot in each guard-house is termed the sentry-post and is specifically designated by 1. Contiguous to the common and lying between the runs are groups of spots, which are termed homes and are designated by E. Each home consists of seven spots, of a color corresponding with one of the runs 1:. 6., one of the players colors. One only of the spots in each home is in contact with the common. This special spot in each home is termed the step and is designated by 2. Between the spots in the starting-places, the common, and the homes are spaces which are designated by 3 and across which a man cannot be moved, but all moves must be made over spots in contact with each other. When a player can make no move except one that will land him on a spot occupied by one of his own men or on a spot occupied by an opponents man corresponding in color with the spot it occupies, he will lose his turn. A prisoner in a guard-house can only escape by making a throw of one.i. c., landing first in the sentry-boxand not then, of course, if the sentry-box is occupied by a man belonging to the captor. A man in a sentry-box not of his own color may be captured by a man pass ing down the run or by a prisoner in that guard-house.

A man must always move forward in the runs, but when in the common may move in any direction, providinghe does not touch the -same spot twice in one move and does not jump spacesthat is to say, the second spot in his move must be in contact with the first, the third with the second, and so on. Any man in the common may be taken by an opponent, but any man upon either of the bases is always safe from capture. Each man must start home from one of the bases and must land upon the step in one move. Having landed upon the step, the man may then be moved forward a n u mberof spots corresponding to a throw. All moves in the home must be 011 unoccupied spots. Neither men nor spaces can be jumped in the home and the same spot cannot be touched twice in one move.

The game may be briefly described as follows: Each player places four men in his own startingplace and one man in each of his opponents starting'places, the 1n en being placed on spots of the same color as the four similar spots in his starting-place, the run leading therefrom and his home. The moves are determined by the throw of dice or in any chance-controlled manner. In using dice if a double is thrown the player has an additional throw. After a player has finished his moves it becomes the turn of the player at his left. A player may move one man a number of spots on the board corresponding to the number of spots indicated by both dice, or he may move a man a number of spots corresponding to the number of spots indicated by one die, and may then move another man a nu mber of spots corresponding to the numberindicated by the. other die. For example, if he throws five, four, he may move one man nine spots, or he may move one man five spots and another man four spots. In moving the player counts all spots whether vacant or occupied. He cannot, however, land on a spot occupied by one of his own men nor 011 a spot occupied by an opponents man if the man and the spot it occupies are of the same color. If the number of spots indicated by one die or the total number of spots indicated by both dice will enable a player to land on a spotoccupied by an opponents man differing in color from the spot it occupies, the opponents man may be removed and placed in the players guard-house. Should the players guard-house already contain two prisoners, additional prisoners must be put on the unoccupied spots of any color in the players starting-place.

Having thus described my invention, I claim-- 1. A game-board comprising a number of contiguous spots arranged in groups at the corners, each group comprising differentlycolored spots, runs of different colors but corresponding in color with certain spots in each group leading from said groups to a group of spots of another color at the center of the board, four spots on the common which serve as bases, and other groups of spots having one spot in each group contiguous to the central group, all the spots in each of said last set of groups being of the same color but the groups being of different colors which correspond with the runs.

2. A game-board comprising a number of contiguous spots arranged in groups of seven spots at the corners each group consisting of four spots of one color and three spots of three colors differing from the color of the first four and from each other, the four spots of each group being of different colors one group from another, runs of the same color as the four spots in each corner group leading toward the center, a group of spots at the center of still another color with the exception of four spots which serve as bases, and four groups of seven spots each one spot in each group being contiguous to the central group, all the spots in said last set of groups being of a color correspondingto one of the runs.

3. A game-board comprising a number of contiguous spots arranged in groups of seven spots atthe corners, each group consisting of fourspots of one color and three spots of three colors differing from the color of the first four and from each other, the four spots of each corner group being of different colors one group from another, runs of the same color as the four spots in each corner group leading toward the center, two spots of the same color flanking one spot in each of the runs, a group of spots at the center of stillanother color with the exception of four spots which serve as bases, and fourgroups of seven spots each one spot in each group being contiguous to the central group, all the spots in said last set of groups being of a color corresponding to one of the runs.

4. A game-board comprising a number of spots of different colors arranged to form starting-places at the corners, each startingplace including spots of different colors, runs of different colors but corresponding in color with certain spots in each starting-place and extending from the starting-place to a com= men at the center, spots on the common which serve as bases and homes corresponding in color to the runs, one spot in each home being contiguous to the common.

5. A game-board comprising a number of spots of different colors arranged to form starting-places at the corners, each starting place including spots of different colors, runs of different colors but corresponding in color with certain spots in each starting-place leading from the starting-places to a common at the center, spots in said common which serve as bases, guard-houses in each run consisting of one spot of the same color flanking a spot in the run and homes corresponding in color to the runs, one spot in each home be ing contiguous to the common.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ELBRIDGE GERRY.

Witnesses:

LEWIS REED, ALsoN. I-I. HoWEs. 

